


Abiogenesis

by camichats



Series: Dictionary Prompts [33]
Category: Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Soulmates, Time Skips, Tony Is Immortal, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 10:54:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15023048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Tony and Bucky are soulmates, sharing past lives. Tony is immortal, and it's up to him to find Bucky and restore his memories. The Winter Soldier mind wipes make it complicated.





	Abiogenesis

**Author's Note:**

> There IS technically 'Major Character Death' but it's not explicit, and not permanent so I didn't tag it.

Tony had been reborn a handful of times, but mostly he moved locations and pretended to age. He did his best to not get killed, partly because it hurt-- and that certainly did suck when it happened-- but mostly because his mate couldn’t recognize him first. Tony had to find him first, and if he died and had to wait to be reincarnated and then grow up, that was a minimum of fifteen years wasted that they could have had together.

Some lives and times he could feel a pull, and he followed it every time without question. He found Bucky at least once every hundred years, but the wait just about killed him sometimes. He would find Bucky and they’d spend an amazing handful of decades together-- eight was their standing record-- but Bucky inevitably got old and died. Sometimes he’d get killed by an accident, but that didn’t make it easier for Tony. He’d watched Bucky die more times than he cared to count, and it didn’t get better the more it happened. It didn’t even help that Tony knew he’d see him again.

What kept him going was the knowledge that someday, someway, some _how_ Bucky would live as long as Tony, and then they would only be separated an accident here or there. He just had to wait for the right time to come along.

There was a war on, and Tony became a nurse to try and help as many people as he could. He was drawn to joining the military to find Bucky, and he didn’t hesitate. He was French right now, and with every passing day he became more worried that he’d get killed before he could find him.

That didn’t happen though, and he couldn’t have been happier to see Bucky sitting across the room in the mess hall. He wanted to run up to him and latch on-- and not let go for another thirty years _at least_. He didn’t do that. He ate his meal, and even though the other men complained about the taste, Tony had had worse. He’d also had better, but that was neither here nor there.

He bided his time, waiting until Bucky left-- which yes, he knew sounded creepy, but c’mon this was his soulmate! They’d spent literal centuries together, a tiny bit of creepiness wasn’t going to turn him off. Anyways, he waited until Bucky left and followed after him.

“Excuse me Sergeant,” Tony called, jogging after him in the sparsely lit streetway.

Bucky stopped, turning around and giving him a curious look. “You’re a medic right? Carbonell?” He extended his hand, and Tony smiled and took it.

“Yep. Antoine this time around.”

Bucky’s eyes got clearer, and he shook his head with a laugh. “I think I can still get away with callin’ you Tony, love. So.” He looked Tony up and down. “French?”

“Oui.”

“You’re such a little bastard.”

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re bigger than me this time around.”

“I’m usually bigger ‘an you.”

“It always takes some time for your memories to completely come back,” Tony said, patting Bucky condescendingly on the shoulder.

Bucky just rolled his eyes. “It does not.” He glanced around, at the very public location they were holding. “Is there anywhere private aroun’ here?”

“Not as private as you want, but yeah.”

As soon as they were in the dark of an alley near the outskirts of the base, Bucky pressed Tony against the dirty wall and kissed him desperately. “Sorry I took so long.”

They’d been separated after only a few years before, and it was heart wrenching every time. They thought they were finally able to be together, and their time was snatched away before they could truly enjoy it.

Tony was out in the field, got shot, and that was that. Not even four months together this round. It was cruel.

Bucky wasn’t more than passing friends with any of the men, so it was easy to hide away and cry. Tony’s reincarnations were tied to Bucky’s lifespan. As in, he was twenty right now, so the universe would give him a decade or four to die before it brought Tony back. Minimum of fifteen years to be with him again, and Tony wouldn’t even be fully grown. Don’t get him wrong, kid Tony was adorable, but there was something undeniably creepy about that wait-- he was very happy it didn’t happen much.

He was in a war, he _probably_ would die out here, and he hated-- for Steve’s sake-- that he found that comforting. When Steve came to the front as Captain America, Bucky smiled and told himself that he’d try to stay around for him. He’d see Tony again, but Steve… he wasn’t so sure.

* * *

Steve was standing between them like some kind of mediator. He was obviously nervous, wringing his hands and glancing back and forth. Tony was staring at Bucky intensely, and Steve had never seen him look like that so he was worried. “Uh Tony, this is my best friend, Bucky.”

“Everyone and their mother knows that, Cap,” Tony responded. “Mind if we get some time alone?” He flashed a quick smile at Steve. “Bonding within the team and all that.”

Bucky shifted his weight awkwardly. “No offense Mister Stark, but I’m not that comfortable around people that aren’t Stevie.”

Tony drooped, and Steve realized that what he’d had before was anticipation. “I- you don’t remember me?” Tony asked, voice broken.

“No.” He looked at Steve for support.

“Have you two met before?”

“You don’t remember me at all?”

“I hardly remember anythin’... Was I the Winter Soldier?”

“No, it was- look this is going to sound weird, but can you shake my hand?” Tony held his hand out but didn’t move towards him, giving him the option to decline.

“Uh I- I guess?” He glanced at Steve again, who gave Bucky his Tony-is-a-genius-so-he’s-weird shrug. He shuffled forward uncertainly and took Tony’s hand, half-expecting something incredible to happen for the way Tony was focused on him.

When nothing happened, Tony looked absolutely crushed and stumbled back a step. He fled the room, the ding of the elevator sounding a moment later.

“Did I do somethin’ wrong?” Bucky asked Steve.

Steve was frowning the direction Tony had left in. “No, I don’t think so. That was… strange.”

“I thought he was always strange.”

“Not _that_ much. I’ll ask him about tomorrow. I guess-” he sighed “-I guess we should go back to the hotel.”

“On the contrary, Captain,” Jarvis said, “sir has asked me to inform you that Sergeant Barnes is welcome here for as long as he desires.”

“Oh, uh, tell him thank you then.”

It was a very awkward couple of months, with Tony always looking like he was expecting Bucky to suddenly remember that they were best friends or something. Bucky felt guilty about it, but he started avoiding him. Tony was always nice but maybe a little _too_ nice. It was like with Steve only worse, because he knew exactly what Steve expected from him, but Tony was a wild card.

He had dreams of his memories sometimes, and when they took a dive out of the twentieth century, Bucky didn’t know what to do. Nobody had mentioned past lives being a part of the cycle, but maybe it was one of those things that was so obvious they thought he knew all about it. Like that there was a difference between what made up his body and what made up, say Natasha’s-- and god had _that_ been an embarrassing question to have in front of everybody.

Bruce was the one least likely to mock him, so he went to Bruce in private and asked him, “Is there such a thing as past lives?”

“Nothing that’s been proven, but there are some people that think they exist. Why?”

“Just… some dreams.” He shook his head. “It’s nothing. Thanks Bruce.”

* * *

It was an accident. The Avengers were heading back to the Tower after a long fight-- not hard, nobody was hurt, it was just long-- and Tony was carrying his newest armor in the suitcase it folded into. He’d been up for a while before the battle, and he swayed when he went to step out of the elevator. Bucky was closest, so he reached out to steady him with a hand on his arm then froze.

“Thanks,” Tony mumbled, trying to step forward. He frowned when Bucky’s hand didn’t fall away, and instead he hauled Tony into a hug.

“Uh Buck?” Steve asked warily. “Everything alright?”

“Perfect.”

“You kinda trapped Tony in your arms, y’know,” Clint said.

“Yep.”

“He might want to be let go,” Natasha chimed in.

“No he doesn’t,” Tony said, muffled against Bucky’s chest. He dropped the suitcase and hugged Bucky back. “Missed you.”

“It’s been a while.”

“Way too fucking long.”

“You’re the one that died on me.”

“I was supposed to come back bigger.”

“You’re a little bit bigger.”

“You’re in the same body, but you got bigger.” Tony tilted his head up to glare at him. “That’s not playing fair, Bucky bear.”

“Does anyone else know what’s going on?” Steve asked helplessly.

Everyone else shook their heads, but Bruce said, “I might have an idea.”

Tony stood on his tiptoes and snuggled his face into Bucky’s neck. “Avengers, so expectancy down, but suit of armor and training, so probably alive. Superserum, so you’ll actually last this time. Seventy years and you’ve aged maybe five.” He let out a shuddering breath. “This could be good.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr [@cami-chats](http://cami-chats.tumblr.com)


End file.
